Grenfell Tower Insulation Company Rigged Test To Pass Approval Inquiry Reveals

The real truth behind the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire is still being revealed 3 years later, with fresh information about the construction of the building surfacing on Monday.

During the 2nd phase of the inquiry, into how the disaster happened a former employee of Celotex, the company behind the insulation for the block revealed that the work he did was “dishonest”.

Mr Jonathan Roper, who worked as a product manager for Celotex said that the results of the fire test were misleading. When talking to colleagues he said the insulation “realistically should not be used behind most cladding panels, because in the event of a fire it would burn”.

Celotex failed its first fire test in January 2014 and added a 6mm fire-resisting magnesium oxide board, and then 8mm fibre cement panels over the magnesium oxide to “conceal” it’s presence during the 2nd test in May 2014.

Mr Roper said the actions of the company were “completely unethical” and agreed with the inquiry’s chief lawyer Richard Millett QC that it was “misleading and intended to mislead”.

The disregard for the actual viability of the product came from a desire to make more money wether the insulation met regulation or not. Celotex dismissed staff during an internal disciplinary process saying there was “unacceptable conduct on the part of a number of employees”.